Ferrer’s withdrawal good news for Raonic at Rogers Cup

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The loss of a top-10 player would be viewed as bad news for most tennis tournaments, but Eugène Lapierre, the director of the Rogers Cup men’s event, was able to see the silver lining after David Ferrer of Spain, No. 7 in the ATP Tour rankings, sent his regrets this week.

“It’s good news in a way because this means Milos (Raonic) will be seeded eighth,” Lapierre said. That means Raonic receives a first-round bye and he can’t face a higher-ranked player before the quarterfinals.

Ferrer’s withdrawal was predictable. The veteran clay-court specialist, who is known for is tenacious play, hasn’t played since he lost in the first round of a grass-court event in Nottingham, England. He pulled out of Wimbledon with an elbow injury.

Lapierre noted that the seedings changed over the past week. The absence of Ferrer and No, 2 Roger Federer worked to the advantage of Raonic…